Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Bullet Hell

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Hell Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Bullet Hell

Of 57 developers who shipped a Bullet Hell Class-Based game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 80 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 80 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper, while revenue is up 45% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 80 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Bullet Hell
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.6k → $2.1k → $1.2k → $776 → $2.2k → $386 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Bullet Hell: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $776 (exactly $776)
Top 25% $6.2k (exactly $6,235)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $52,615)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 112
Announced 80
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 45% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Bullet Hell
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Bullet Hell; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,972 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $780, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. Nearly all of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Rabbit and Steel 2024 · $4.6M Immortal Redneck 2017 · $1.3M Fantasy Maiden Wars - DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER - 2025 · $611k Dice People 2025 · $64k Duriano 2026 · $53k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rabbit and Steel older $14.99 10,159 96% 305k $4.6M (exactly $4,568,502) mino_dev
Immortal Redneck older $19.95 2,211 90% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,284) Crema
Fantasy Maiden Wars - DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER - $34.99 582 98% 17k $611k (exactly $610,925) さんぼん堂
Dice People $2.99 719 90% 22k $64k (exactly $64,494) Mateusk2m, Manodeix
Duriano $14.99 117 95% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) Adisoft Gaming Co.,Ltd.
SHRIMP GAME: OVERKRILL $11.99 93 89% 2.8k $33k (exactly $33,452) GasGod Games, GLUE MAN
TombStar older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Andy Sum, Marcus Grambau
Backpack Survivors · EA $11.99 82 68% 2.5k $29k (exactly $29,495) CM Game Studio
Evasion older $19.99 48 68% 1.4k $29k (exactly $28,786) Archiact
Nullpoint Protocol $14.99 62 61% 1.9k $28k (exactly $27,881) Everbloom Games
Relic Abyss · EA $8.99 94 80% 2.8k $25k (exactly $25,352) Reverse Loop
Devil Jam $7.99 84 69% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Rogueside
Tri Survive $7.99 54 90% 1.6k $13k (exactly $12,944) Majestic Mind Games
Neon Striker · EA $4.99 85 87% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,724) Zeno's Adventure Team, Nickonhawk Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.